Protesters block Polish parliament

WARSAW — Poland’s long-running political crisis took a dramatic turn in Warsaw, with the action playing out live on television screens in prime time Friday and continuing into Saturday.

Anti-government demonstrators blocked access to the parliament buildings and opposition MPs staged their own protest inside after the ruling party pushed through the annual budget in a vote without the participation of most of the opposition.

Polish opposition leaders called for days of protests in Warsaw and other Polish cities, saying the government led by the Law and Justice party is violating the constitution.

European Council President Donald Tusk, the former prime minister of Poland and an adversary of the current leaders, appealed "to those who have real power for respect and consideration of the people, constitutional principles and morals."

Poland's interior minister accused the opposition of attempting a coup by occupying the parliament's central hall. Prime Minister Beata Szydło and Jaroslaw Kaczyński, the Law and Justice leader and de facto leader of Poland, had to be evacuated from the building early Saturday morning.

The crisis started when the ruling Law and Justice party pushed through rules earlier this week that limited journalists’ access to the parliament buildings. The government said the reporters’ presence made for a chaotic work environment.

Polish journalists have long had the run of the parliament building, conducting interviews in the building’s main hallways and easily interacting with MPs. Their presence has also led to embarrassments, with reporters filming MPs munching sandwiches in the debating chamber, sleeping in hallways or showing up for work drunk.

The opposition and most of the press were strongly opposed to the new rules, and opposition MPs blocked access to the podium in the main debating chamber of parliament on Friday.

In response, the speaker of parliament called for a meeting in a separate room. There he said that a quorum of 237 MPs had shown up. With most opposition MPs outside the room, the government adopted the budget — the most important bill of the year —by a show of hands. It also passed another bill slashing benefits for pensioners who had served in the communist-era secret services.

The opposition insisted that the budget vote was illegal.

“We have no evidence that there was a quorum. Speaker [Marek] Kuchciński was not in control of the voting. There was no electronic counting,” Sławomir Neumann, parliamentary leader of the opposition Civic Platform party, told reporters.

Law and Justice insisted nothing was wrong.

“There was a quorum. The budget was legally adopted,” said Kaczyński, the leader of Law and Justice.

Law and Justice won the presidency and a majority in parliamentary in elections last year. Since then, it has taken a firm grip on the public media, purged the leadership of state controlled companies, and hobbled the country’s top constitutional court.

The party argues it is acting to bring down a web of corruption holding the country back. Its actions have sparked growing domestic protests and put Poland at odds with the European Commission, which has launched an unprecedented procedure against Warsaw for violating the bloc’s democratic norms.

This article has been updated to clarify that most opposition MPs were not present during the budget vote.

Authors:

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Erik

I live here. This has suddenly become very important to Poles. PiS is using exactly the same tactics as did the collapsing Communist government.

Posted on 12/17/16 | 11:54 AM CET

Veritas-Semper

Oh, Cienki, Cienki. This was a desperate attempt by the ‘Total Opposition’ – aka Targowica 2.0 – to bring down the government voted in and supported by Poland’s majority of citizens.

This is the “Total Opposition’ which – hand in hand with the former communist apparatchiks – is protecting the former communists from the lowering of their overblown pensions by the current government to the average pensions “enjoyed” by the rest of the population which they subjugated under their communist rule. The former communists – and their friends, the ‘Total Opposition’ – are squealing like pigs pushed away from the trough because , as they claim, “they cannot survive on average pensions”. A feat the rest of the population, and especially those who suffered under the communist rule, have actually done without any choice.

That is what this is all about. Justice, late but nevertheless justice, for the former communist apparatchiks has finally arrived and they squeal like pigs. Their mouthpiece is the ‘Total Opposition’.

And Cienki, you are doing a great job on Politico.

Posted on 12/17/16 | 12:17 PM CET

Tad

It is frightening to watch these developments. However, the hope is, that eventually PiS will be unseated.
And as to Veritas, I am quite sure that him, as well as a number of other commentators are simply so called trolls, on PiS’s payroll.

Posted on 12/17/16 | 12:57 PM CET

agx

Nobody excluded oposition. Oposition blocked parliamentary platform and deliberations and voting were impossible. So the parliamentary majority went to another hall. Oposition were invited , too, but they preferred taking selfie . It seems that they aren’t able to count until 230+1.

Posted on 12/17/16 | 12:59 PM CET

bzium

It’s about lowering very very high pensions members of communist apparatchiks. Protests have nothing in common with “freedom” “media” etc.

Posted on 12/17/16 | 1:15 PM CET

Asking why?

Walesa, Komorowski, Kopacz, Schetyna try to cause bloodshed in Poland. They say it openly.
Such is the price to be defending the interests of the post-communist criminals and mafia, still invested at a high judicial positions, there in Poland.
Why Tusk, Schulz, Junker, Timmermans and Merkel accept it so easily?
What it is, according to EU standards, a species of “democracy”, which introduces violent left-wing opposition in Poland?

Posted on 12/17/16 | 1:30 PM CET

Janusz S

In reality this is only to curb a bit this journalists’ loafing around whole parliament buildings whenever and wherever they want to. Tell the Brits to allow their journalists to do the same… of course this is impossible, they have some rules and no one call them undemocratic.
Civic Platform is a party which main purpose of existing (under cover of democratic virtues) is to defend privileges of Polish establishment. Polish establishment (opposite to this of Western countries) consists itself of people who built their careers with corruption, fraud, thief and parasitism mainly. So the main sin of Law and Justice is they want to end this and make the country more fair for the simple citizen. In fact, they could do it in more cleverly way…

Posted on 12/17/16 | 2:12 PM CET

marie

Cienski, do you remember Michnik’s statement that Kaczynski took away (using swearing language) from him his Poland?. That’s what ails him and parliament’s opposition – Civic Platform and Modern Party.

Posted on 12/17/16 | 2:13 PM CET

volestrangler

This spells the end of the counter-revolution. Either there will be a restoration of the constitution and reversal of recent measures or there will be a period of martial law. Let this be sign to the rest of Europe that populism and right-wing nationalism will not succeed.

Posted on 12/17/16 | 2:55 PM CET

Veritas-Semper

BTW, what is happening in Poland since the election of President Duda in May 2015, and the overwhelming victory of the Law & Justice party in October 2015, is replaying itself in the USA with the Nov 7 landslide victory of Donald Trump and the Republican party. Verbatum.

The squeal of the Democrat establishment, and their friends in the overwhelming leftist media is simply horrendous. In both countries, those in power were sent packing, and in both countries the former power brokers can’t (or simply won’t) bring themselves to face reality that the democratic process functioned as intended and they both were tossed on their ear.

The squeal of the fat-cats and the squeal of the pigs is now in perfect pitch to the amusement of those who do not see the world through PC corrective lenses.

Posted on 12/17/16 | 2:58 PM CET

volestrangler

Veritas always likes to have the last word it seems,
PiS government has lost it.

Posted on 12/17/16 | 3:16 PM CET

David

Polish government tried to copy the rules of european parliament and bundestag, but luckily polish press is more free than press in Brussell and Berlin. The law was blocked when nowadays “opposition” tried to impose it in the previous term, and hopefully this censorship will fail again. Last 25 years in Poland every government takes step to return to the communist state. I hope that common people soon realize how oppresed we are and will get rid of excessive government rule.

Posted on 12/17/16 | 3:28 PM CET

Ted

What we saw yesterday was a clown MP from the liberal total opposition (by their own definition) trying to be annoying in order to disturba the dbudget debate. After being repeatedly asked to leave the speakers tablet eventually he was disciplined by the Marshall. Might be that it was too far, might be a fine was a better solution; otherwise the said clown could have appealed the decision. This all were the legal means, physically paralysing the House by the opposition isn’t. Strangely enough the opposition had already some placards at hand and a handful of agitated supporters in the front of the House, what a coincidence, isn’t it?

Posted on 12/17/16 | 3:50 PM CET

Igor

IMHO: the kernel of these riots is an act decreasing pensions of retired former communist security servicemen.
their pensions exceeded pensions of average citizens several times.
now they will receive amounts like other people. privileges are going to be terminated.

officially communist regime ended 1989.
billions of euro have been wasted to provide them luxury living level

Posted on 12/17/16 | 3:57 PM CET

Igor

the kernel of these riots is an act decreasing pensions of retired former communist security servicemen.
their pensions exceeded pensions of average citizens several times.
now they will receive amounts like other people. privileges are going to be terminated.

officially communist regime ended 1989.
billions of euro have been wasted to provide them luxury living level

Posted on 12/17/16 | 3:59 PM CET

jb

This “opposition” represents former communist apparatchiks and propagandists, judges that used to sentence people fighting for freedom under communist regime for years in prison, secret informers and members of former totalitarian communists secret services as well as people that collaborated with them after change of political system in 1989 thanks to which they were able to maintain their undue privileges and benefit even more from public funds through many dodgy “foundations”, by being nominated to important positions in public sector, etc.
Scale of their corruption and immorality became so big that this “opposition” democratically lost power in 2015 and now is being cut off from public funds and undue privileges because such was democratic will of people expressed in last year’s elections.
Also some multinational corporations are being forced to finally pay some taxes instead of avoiding them through tax “optimization” and tax havens,

Therefore on the advice from prominent journalist and ideologist of this group blossoming for years on various undue privileges this “opposition” started to act “like Hamas” (yes – that what he literally advised them !), moreover it is supported by foreign funds and foreign media (unfortunately most of media in Poland are in foreign – mainly German hands). Their objective is to maintain those huge, undue privileges for their group as well as maintain status quo so that some multinational corporations would still be able to avoid paying taxes.
That’s the whole story, so there is nothing to get excited Cienski and you could finally stop spreading lies about what is happening – like for example this one:
“There he said that a quorum of 237 MPs had shown up. While police blocked access to the hall for opposition MPs, (…)”
All MPs were invited to vote, and for example MPs from “Kukiz 15” were present during that vote so it is a lie that no opposition MPs were present. The others were simply more interested in blocking main parliament hall to make impossible voting of budget and stripping of former communist secrete services members of their undue privileges.
Also new regulations concerning access of journalists to Polish Parliament are not much different or in fact less strict than those in European Parliament or Bundestag.

Posted on 12/17/16 | 5:19 PM CET

jb

One more thing.
Read about or better watch a documentary movie “Night Switch (Nocna Zmiana)” about events from 1992 when former communists and their collaborators managed to overthrow legally elected government of prime minister Olszewski that tried to make list of collaborators of communist secrets services public.
That’s what the “opposition” tries to do today and that movie will explain what is at least part of the background of their actions.

Posted on 12/17/16 | 5:47 PM CET

bogdan

Last night’s protests in the Polish parliament by the opposition were staged. The original reason, a protest against PiS setting up rules and regulations for journalists that are in line with most Western democracies has been lost in the biassed reporting and in the hysteria. The opposition MPs had the sets of printed papers that they were waving and hanging ready. Instructions have now surfaced that the so called ‘Committee for the defence of Democracy’ and the opposition organised the supposedly ‘spontaneous’ protests outside parliament beforehand. Evidence on wpolityce.pl. It is the desperate former elites, including the journalists who support and have previously benefitted from them, stirring up civil disorder. The motives and role of the majority of Western media in putting forward an extremely biassed or uninformed view is highly controversial. As soon as I start disliking PiS, the opposition and their supporting media successfully convinces me otherwise by distorting the facts.

Posted on 12/17/16 | 8:01 PM CET

Jack Everett

Poland made a big mistake backing Americas missiles on Russian borders. In any future war with Russia Poland would be the firt country turned to toast.
This endless agitating for war has to stop or many small countries that can’t defend them self will disappear for good.

Posted on 12/17/16 | 8:35 PM CET

bogdan

If you wish to learn more about the history of the Polish media and it’s communist roots, watch Media III RP. Unfortunately I have only found it in Polish.

Posted on 12/17/16 | 9:01 PM CET

wi

The oppositon becoming histeric for having lost huge benefits!
Cienski as usual is presenting Polish situation from the opposition point of view!

Posted on 12/17/16 | 9:18 PM CET

volestrangler

Kaczynski, the man responsible for this mess has exceeded himself. The constitutional tribunal is no longer functional and the president lacks the independence to arbitrate. The protest was spontaneous and has increasing support. Lets hope the bonds between the various groups now involved are strong enough to form a lasting and functional consensus for new government. The trolls will continue to tour the various straw men but everybody knows their tired old songs.

Posted on 12/17/16 | 10:06 PM CET

max

The protesters are mainly post-communists and left-liberals who has lost power, connections and has been cut off from the budget money because of the last year democratic elections in Poland.

The main reason for the protest (and other previous protest made by opposition and KOD) is an attempt to overthrow the new conservative government and seize power.

The left-liberals and post-communists failed to attack the government in dominated by left-liberals European Parliament;

The domination of left-liberal and post-communists in Constitutional Tribunal in Poland is ending – On 19 December the term of a post-communist, the president of the Tribunal expires and the left-liberal opposition is losing one of the main tools of blocking the changes implemented by the new conservative government.

And finally the new decomunization regulations which lowers the pensions of the former communist regime officials are being implemented. The occupation of the main room in the Polish Parliament by the opposition were aimed directly at disturbing with implementing the regulations. Luckily the parliament has more rooms and the regulations together with the budget statute has been implemented at night which triggered fury of the post-communists’ defenders gathered at the Polish Parliament.

Some journalists compare the events with „the night shift” in 1992 when democratically elected Olszewski’s government has been overthrown by post-communists and liberals (among others Tusk and Walensa who was the President of Poland then), because it tried to implement decomunization and vetting. Since 1989 when communist regime partially gave back power to liberal part of the Solidarity the real decomunisation and vetting has not been conducted in Poland. Even communist dictators such as gen Jaruzelski or Kiszczak have not been punished quite the opposite they have remained a privileged caste with often pension a dozen or so times higher than their victims. The present government announced among others the demotion of the generals and depriving them of all military ranks. The conservative government has now majority in the Polish parliament and the present president of Poland come from conservative circles that’s only why the scenario from 1992 would be much harder to implement.

The protesters wants only regain power and as one of the KOD’s protester once said that they protest in order “to be as it was”.

PS It was not a spontaneous protest as media reports, it was registered on 12 December to Warsaw authorities, there was even a stage and a sound system. Identical media regulations are in many parliaments in the EU, so changing the rules was only a pretext for protests . The protesters didn’t manage to provoke the police and the tear gas has not been used as media reports. The smoke came from bangers used by the protesters.

Posted on 12/17/16 | 10:40 PM CET

Tad

@max
“the protesters are mainly post communists and left-liberals”. This is baloney. I know personally many participants of those demonstrations and there is no one that could be possibly considered to be a post-communist or a left-liberal. They are simply people who cannot anymore watch destruction of their country, their constitutional institutions and continuing removal of Poland into the far margin of the EU.

Posted on 12/17/16 | 11:08 PM CET

max

@Tad
Ordinary people don’t break the law by disturbing the peace in town at night and blocking the parliament. Ordinary people respect rivals, people shearing different views and go to elections but not use violence to overthrow democratically elected government. Normal people who wants free media don’t attack members of parliament, journalists shearing different views, as the protester did during the protest. Ordinary people don’t throw flares on street and lay down on the street pretending injured by the police.

dusty

As a Brit I do not understand polish politics but feel sorry the working people, you will find that the EU leaders always back the strong man and big business they have caused workers pay to stagnate for the last 20 years in Britain. Remember one thing Germany is not your friend look what they have done to Greece and will do the same to any country that upset their plans.Europe was improving in the years after the war, only the communist counties were behind owing to Russian domination how we brits cheered when you took your freedom.they were replaced by the EU and even our leaders and industrialists joined the gray train.but we finally got Brexit .It will take a few years and we will back as a global trading nation again and I think the EU will be no more the young folk will stop believing the proper-gander dished out to them.We are the 6th wealthiest country in the world but are expected to have to pay Juncker’s for our freedom I don’t think so.
When the crap hits the fan Germany will pull out of the union blaming everyone else France will wonder what happened, Italy will offer to surrender to anyone who will bail their banks out the rest will dust themselves down and start allover again. If Poland can get a new TYPE OF POLITICIAN they will become the new powerhouse of Europe good luck

Posted on 12/17/16 | 11:45 PM CET

max

@Tad
Ordinary people don’t break the law by disturbing the peace in town at night and blocking the parliament. Ordinary people respect rivals, people shearing different views and go to elections but not use violence to overthrow democratically elected government. Normal people who wants free media don’t attack members of parliament, journalists shearing different views, as the protesters did during the protest. Ordinary people don’t throw flares on street and lay down on the street pretending injured by the police.

Posted on 12/17/16 | 11:52 PM CET

jb

@dusty
Unfortunately some people are so naive that they prefer Polish matters to be decided in Berlin (or Moscow) although when it was happening in the past it always ended in disaster for Poland.
There are also some indications that today’s rioters are inspired/financed by Berlin (for example a few years ago simply German rioters were sent to Poland to disturb peaceful demonstrations on the anniversary of regaining of independence by Poland) as Germany feels it is loosing grip over Poland under current government.

Posted on 12/18/16 | 12:24 AM CET

pisVoter

Huge majority of Polish ppl support this government. They don’ t care about the media and what they show. The whole opposition is trying to make a revolt but it doesn’t work. They are madmen.

Posted on 12/18/16 | 3:14 AM CET

Ranger

Just look at those dumb leftists paid by Soros&Co. Omg!
Poland be strong!

Posted on 12/18/16 | 6:48 AM CET

Kubanek

It is the highest time for Poland to leave EU. It is EU which supports and financed, next to George Soros, this “opposition” from KOD. Everyone knows, that golden rule: divide and conquer. EU, West, but also Russia are interested in dividing ideologically, Polish people and conquer them, economically, socially and politically.
I do not care about PiS and Kaczyński, there are too leftist and too “liberal” for me. PiS dominated media are as pro-EU and pro-NATO, as these dominated by Liberals. Hence, PiS is pseudo-Nationalist, in fact, anti-Polish party.

Posted on 12/18/16 | 8:57 AM CET

Igor

the new media regulations seems to be only pretext to kick up hell
BTW: similiar to regulations in other European countries: Germany, France, Italy …

Posted on 12/18/16 | 12:20 PM CET

eujo

conspiracy theories and boring left-right gangbang even here…these riots are conducted by mainly young people, not some few hundred pensioners. It seems to me that Poland is rapidly becoming the next EU problem country after Hungary. I just hope the situation will settle there as soon as possible.

Posted on 12/18/16 | 3:49 PM CET

qwa-qwa

pisVoter:

stop making propaganda, PiS never had suport of majority, only thirty few percents supports them, mainly parasites that live mainly from social benefits (or/and from working on blach market), or grandparents in their 70s or 80s that are naive and believe in everything what Rydzyk is saying in his radio. They have very small suport among those with some knowledge, skills and education.

Posted on 12/18/16 | 3:55 PM CET

qwa-qwa

jb:

When PO/Civil Platform was rulling Polish matters were decided in Berlin, when PiS is rulling Polish matters are decided in USA and Israel. When it as decided in Germany we at least got something thanks for that, from USA/Israel we are not getting even kick in the ass. Ohhh maybe, we are getting something: new requests from Jewish organisations.

Posted on 12/18/16 | 3:59 PM CET

jb

@qwa-qwa
You mean such “benefits” as the highest public debt in Polish history (Civic Platform increased it twofold like no one else before !), big budget deficit, decreasing tax revenues as a result of allowing multinational corporations to avoid paying taxes in Poland ?!?
All this in exchange for some structural funds from the EU from which German companies benefited the most and which are peanuts compared to proper war reparations that Germany owns Poland for material and human losses during WWII ? Strange logic. Just take into account a fee that EU Commission wants to impose on countries that don’t want to take so called “refugees” – 250.000 EUR/person/year and apply that fee to human losses in Poland during WWII, even without taking into account time factor: 6 million x 250.000 EUR gives EUR 1,5 trillion for human losses alone. Taking into account also material losses would probably double that number.
Germany has never covered such damages.

Posted on 12/18/16 | 6:23 PM CET

max

@ eujo
“Totalitarian opposition” post-communists, leftist, liberals have children 😉
A young man who pretended injured by the police and lied down on the street for a moment on purpose (You could watch a manipulated fragment of a video on the internet showing a man lying on the street and people who came to help him and the police in the background. The manipulated fragment became a part of a propaganda anti-government video made by opposition) is a husband of a journalist connected with Krytyka Polityczna a leftist magazine which circles by the way invited in 2011 thugs from antifa to Warsaw and made riots.

Posted on 12/18/16 | 7:01 PM CET

volestrangler

It may interest Max that Olszewski attended the protest on the platform and gave his support.

Posted on 12/18/16 | 7:05 PM CET

Veritas-Semper

The former communist apparatchiks and their brethren in the ‘Total Opposition’ are going berserk as their fat pensions have been voted down in Poland’s Parliament. And, it’s about time!

As with everything on this planet, all one has to do is to follow the money and what looks murky and confounding suddenly becomes perfectly crystal clear.

Posted on 12/18/16 | 8:01 PM CET

Liw

People can be divided into two categories: the ones that egg on, and the ones that are egged on by others. This is what is happening in Poland. Power hungry opposition has manipulated a lot of people. Yet, stil 35% of Poles support the ruling party. Much, much more than the opposition. Not without a reason… They still remember the arrogance and injustice of the former government.

Posted on 12/19/16 | 8:33 AM CET

NumberMan

I am disappointed by Mr. Cienski by his filtering of information to defend PiS government.

The only objective Polish daily “Gazeta Wyborcza” reported that Polish air space was closed due to coup-d’état.
A demonstrator has been hurt by brutal action of the police who thrown tear gas at him.
Patriotic former president, Lech Walesa, called for Poland to be excluded from the EU.
Polish government has voted the next year’s budget to support a pointless child benefit (extreme poverty of children is forecast to drop by 94%), which will ruin the state .
Hard working high-ranking officials of the Communist regime have been forced to live on an average Polish pension, though only from 1st October 2017.
Mr. Lewandowski, former Commissioner, expressed his outrage that the European Parlament discusses Aleppo instead of Poland.

But no Mr. Cienski has decided to support PiS.

Posted on 12/19/16 | 10:56 AM CET

pexi

Yeah…that’s the reality…a fake injured try to create fake news to help Soros, Koch, and others friends of the elite to imagine a polish problem so that they can put in place the old corrupted system to enjoy the bribery and tax avoidance for big companies…So Junckers, Timmermans, Tusk and others puppets can talk about a “democracy” problem in Poland…

Posted on 12/19/16 | 12:03 PM CET

Remik

What a stupid people over there. There is nothing good with them.

Posted on 12/19/16 | 12:24 PM CET

Neither Here nor There

Nobody in Poland claims that last election was rigged, even leftwingers accepted the result, but parliamentary majority does not give Law an Justice Party, or (any political party whatsoever) right to gag freedom of media outlets. Our MPs work on our behalf,so we should have oportunity to control their proceedings, using media proxy.

Posted on 12/19/16 | 12:30 PM CET

jb

@pexi
Yeah, Civic Platform – part of “total opposition” as well as foreign controlled media (mainly German) are already distributing spots pretending that this fake demonstrator was a real wounded one (28th second of the spot):https://twitter.com/Platforma_org?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Perfect example of “posttruth” or simply lies and manipulation – in normal terms.
It reminds me exactly how communist secret services operated distributing fake information about opponents to discredit them. So it is no revelation that former members and collaborators of communist secret services fully support and take part in this “total opposition”.

Although probably just two decisions by the Polish government would relieve this fake news propaganda pressure:
– stopping strenghtening of Polish defence capabilities in view of more and more aggressive Russia including withdrawal from move to transfer US NATO troops to Poland
– letting multinational corporations continue to avoid paying taxes in Poland.
If current government became more “collaborative” on those two issues “total opposition” wouldn’t probably be supported any more from abroad (most probably mainly from Russia and Germany) and would fade quickly.

Posted on 12/19/16 | 12:55 PM CET

max

As a result of mediation of Andrzej Duda the president of Poland, the ruling Law and Justice has withdraw his proposal of new media rules in the Polish Parliament which were aimed at easing the work of journalists and getting the parliamentary work in order. I hope that the opposition will also stop the protest because blocking the parliament is simply breaking the law and a huge irresponsibility.

aniela

the relay problem is! *************slashing benefits for pensioners who had served in the communist-era secret services.**************** not budget, freedom of press, so call author cienki know this but his “boss” soros and michnik are running campaigning against free Poland